Thus is the curious case of 50-year-old IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre Satish Chandra Verma, a civil engineer from Bihar, who services stood "entrusted" to the CBI for the Ishrat Jehan probe ever since an 18-month old order by the Gujarat HC.

The court on Tuesday said CBI will have to finally relieve him from the case on June 24 even as the CBI pleaded for him to continue in their team till a charge-sheet is filed by them before or on July 4.

The IB chief, SA Ibrahim is said to have stressed before the Home Ministry last week that Verma, who was earlier appointed by Ishrat's family to be a member of the Special Investigative Team (SIT) that proved it was a fake encounter, was perceived to be biased by Kumar.

IB officials also wondered why CBI was so dependent on a non-CBI officer for the Ishrat probe. CBI, however, kept the 1989-batch officer onboard.

He was part of a fourmember CBI team that grilled Kumar on Tuesday. "We told the court that we want Verma in the team.

Reports that we wanted to drop him are wrong," a CBI spokesperson said. Verma chose not to join a debate on himself. "If you say IB has an opinion about me, I think that is the gold standard and I need not add more," Verma told ET.

Though he is not their officer, the CBI is highly protective of Verma and specifically asked the HC on Tuesday to protect him from any victimization by Gujarat government.

"The apprehension is voiced by learned counsel for the CBI contending that since Verma has remained as a part of investigating agency, it may not happen that he is victimized in any manner by the state government when he joins the services with them," the court mentioned in its order.

The Gujarat government had to assure the court that far as Verma's function of as a member of SIT or in connection with assistance provided to CBI, no action shall be taken by the State Government without obtaining express leave of the Court.